Stripped bolt hole on brand new Mark 7

[kkoyle]

Has this happened to anyone else? I have a Mark 7 that I just bought brand-new in November - less than 4 months ago. I have primarily used the table saw, only moving it into vertical position for the drill press and router a couple of times. Today I switched it from table saw to shaper and had to take off the plastic tie bar guard under the work table - I honestly think it's only the third time I've done this - and when I went to put it back on after using the shaper, one of the bolt holes was stripped. It won't even hold the bolt. I didn't torque it down or anything - I always just use the long allen wrench that comes with the Shopsmith, and you really can't put much torque on that. I'm going to call Shopsmith about it, of course, but I was wondering if this is a common problem. Did Shopsmith go too cheap on their metal castings so that the holes strip out easily?

Ken

[ChrisNeilan]

Is it the bolt that is stripped or the casting? Eitherway, not a terribly difficult fix. If it is the casting that is stripped, a temporary fixcould be a wooden match stick jamed intomthe hole...

[JPG]

A closeup picture of the hole would be helpful.

I am not aware of this being a common or recent problem.

[claimdude]

If under warrantee call SS. If not you can drill it out a little larger and insert a helical coil that will bring the hole back to proper size and thread. Or you could log in to McMaster Carr and order 4 or 5 slightly larger button screws and drill both of the holes and tap them the new size. badabing badaboom. I have never had a stripped screw on my Mark V upgraded to PowerPro and bought it new in 1984.

Jack

[JPG]

If under warrantee call SS. . . .

[dusty]

A closeup picture of the hole would be helpful.

I am not aware of this being a common or recent problem.

I don't know how to do that without getting the cap screw removed. Besides, stripped threads all look alike to me.

I'd contact Shopsmith before I did anything else. They might send you a new Table and Tie Bar Assembly. At any rate, GET THE SCREW OUT, then tap or "drill and retap" the hole with new threads. I am betting on the casting being cross threaded. An easy thing to do if parts like these are attached with power tools.

Side Comment: I use wing nuts here. Eliminates the need for a tool if I want to remove the dust cover.

Lower Saw Guard Dust Collection 008.jpg (1.85 MiB) Viewed 5509 times

One good thing. You can still use the machine for any of its functions. Dust collection will be poor but that is the only down side.

[JPG]

Threads can get cross threaded(multiple lead), stripped out or just jammed. The corrective action varies with each.

Regardless SS CS needs address this before taking further action(other than removing the screw..).

[kkoyle]

Thanks Dusty, JPG and all. I like the idea of the wing nuts - I'll probably do that once I get the current issue resolved with Shopsmith. I know it wouldn't be a big deal to bore out the holes and tap them for a bigger bolt, but it's really frustrating to have this happen with a new machine.

It's good to hear that this is not something common among Shopsmiths. I'm hoping it's a one-off.

Ken

[dusty]

Thanks Dusty, JPG and all. I like the idea of the wing nuts - I'll probably do that once I get the current issue resolved with Shopsmith. I know it wouldn't be a big deal to bore out the holes and tap them for a bigger bolt, but it's really frustrating to have this happen with a new machine.

It's good to hear that this is not something common among Shopsmiths. I'm hoping it's a one-off.

Ken

Coming out of Shopsmith, I suspect it is a very seldom occurrence. However, it may being happening to others. I find those screws rather difficult to install and have gotten them started only to find that I am cross threading. So far, I have been forced to drill out asnd replace only the one machine pictured and on that one only one hole was damaged. I did both for obvious reasons.

[BuckeyeDennis]

Thanks Dusty, JPG and all. I like the idea of the wing nuts - I'll probably do that once I get the current issue resolved with Shopsmith. I know it wouldn't be a big deal to bore out the holes and tap them for a bigger bolt, but it's really frustrating to have this happen with a new machine.

It's good to hear that this is not something common among Shopsmiths. I'm hoping it's a one-off.

Ken

When working with a good company like Shopsmith, you are truly doing them a favor when you take the time to report defects. 100% inspection is cost-prohibitive these days, and good manufacturing processes are supposed to make it unnecessary. But defects do happen, and the sooner they are identified, the sooner the root cause can be corrected.

I received a defective overarm pin router table plate from Shopsmith a couple years back. So I took some photos showing the problem, emailed them to Shopsmith, and asked them how to proceed to get a warranty replacement. They responded quickly, thanking me for the photos (which made it unnecessary to return the defective part), and saying that they would screen all such parts in inventory for the defect. My replacement part arrived a few days later.

That's as good as you can reasonably expect from a small batch-manufacturing company.